Poor management in sports blamed for RI Asiad failure

Poor management in sports blamed for RI Asiad failure

JAKARTA (JP): One main reason behind Indonesia's flawed
performance at the just concluded Asian Games in Hiroshima is the
increasingly complicated task of management for the National
Sports Governing Body (KONI), Minister of Youth Affairs and
Sports Hayono Isman says.

As the curtain came down on the 12th Asian Games on Sunday,
Indonesia finished 11th with only three gold medals, all of which
came from badminton, the country's strongest sport, 12 silvers
and 11 bronzes.

"KONI has too many sports under its auspices. It handles both
organized sports and board games. If we are to fully adhere to
Olympic rules, we should have two separate bodies, one of which
should be concentrated on the development of official Olympic
sports only," Hayono said yesterday.

The introduction of two separate bodies, intended to reduce
the number of KONI's overwhelming tasks, will be discussed in
detail at the body's next national congress slated for early next
year in Denpasar, Bali, Hayono said after receiving the arriving
Indonesian Asian Games athletes at the Soekarno-Hatta airport
yesterday evening.

Though many observers view the Indonesian medal tally as poor,
Hayono said optimistically, "at any rate, we should thank God
because we won more this time than in Beijing four years ago."

At the Asian Games in Beijing, Indonesia finished seventh with
three golds, six silvers, half of this year's number, and 21
bronzes.
Hayono added that the government has promised to review the
present management of national sports in order to improve the
current system for preparing and grooming athletes.

KONI, set up by the government in 1966, initially managed 34
sports associations in basketball, soccer, swimming, track and
field. It has also allowed various recreational sports such as
board games, mountaineering and other miscellaneous special
sports for the disabled to join.

KONI's chairman Surono told reporters after dissolving the
210-strong Indonesian squad that unexpected circumstances, the
entrance of five ex-Soviet republics, for example, are to blame
for Indonesia's off-target showing at the Asian Games.

"There were some unforeseen circumstances ... that Susi
Susanti failed to win gold for women's singles, for instance, was
completely unexpected," Surono said. Susi Susanti is the world
number one women's shuttler and Barcelona Olympics champion. She
fell easily to Japan's unheralded Hisako Mizui.

Disappointments

Surono said that he expected four golds but "who would have
thought that Susi would fail? And in addition, the former Soviet
republics were there ..."

Other disappointments, Surono said, included Indonesia's
unexpected loss in the surfing event, where Indonesia has won
many times at the Asian level, boxing and equestrian.

Hence, Surono said, the sports associations should ask
themselves why they failed. This was confirmed by Mangombar
Ferdinand Siregar, former KONI secretary general. He said the
chairman in charge of each sports association and other high-
ranking officials should not just concentrate on their
development plans but monitor their progress and see if they are
reaching set goals.

"Until I see it for myself, it will be difficult to believe
that the athletes and their coaches are training according to
plan," Siregar added. (are)

China -- page 10